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Causes and Assessment of Vision Impairment in Students in Schools for the Blind in Yemen: Need for Optical Low Vision Services . Dr. Khalid A. Al-Mohammadi Rehabilitation Centre for Hearing and Visually Impaired Taiz – Yemen MBBs, DO, MSc Prof. Lea Hyvarinen
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Causes and Assessment of Vision Impairment in Students in Schools for the Blind in Yemen: Need for Optical Low Vision Services Dr. Khalid A. Al-Mohammadi Rehabilitation Centre for Hearing and Visually Impaired Taiz – Yemen MBBs, DO, MSc Prof. Lea Hyvarinen Univ. of Helsinki, Finland and Tech. Univ. of Dortmund, Germany MD, PhD, FAAP. Dr. Mohammad Babar Qureshi CBM medical advisor. MBMCh, DOMS, DCPS(HPE),MSc 9th General Assembly International Agency for the Preventation of Blindness
INTRODUCTION • A significant proportion of children in schools for the Blind, receive formal education using Braille. There is however, increasing awareness about the needs of children with low vision, to receive print education. • There is a lack of accurate and reliable data on the causes and assessment of vision impairment in children in Yemen. 9th General Assembly International Agency for the Preventation of Blindness
INTRODUCTION Yemen is a poor country: • Located in the southwest corner of Arabian Peninsula. • A Human Development Index (HDI) of 0.462, which gives the country a rank of 154 out of 187 countries. • Children under 5 years mortality rate is 77/1000 live births with a rank of 40 out of 189. • Infant mortality rate (under 1 year) is 57/1000. • Children under-fives suffering from moderate & severe underweight is 43%. 9th General Assembly International Agency for the Preventation of Blindness
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES To determine causes of vision impairment and to ascertain the need for low vision services for the students attending schools for the Blind in Yemen 9th General Assembly International Agency for the Preventation of Blindness
METHOD AND MATERIALS • Thirteen schools for the Blind in nine governorates in Yemen were identified and selected. • Vision impairment was classified according to the World Health Organization (WHO) categories of vision impairment. • Results of the examination were recorded and coded in the recording form of the WHO/PBL eye examination record for children with blindness or low vision using the definitions in coding instructions. 9th General Assembly International Agency for the Preventation of Blindness
RESULTS All finding and subsequent data were analyzed for the 214 (47.2%) students who were in the visual acuity range of <0.3 decimal - LP. • Hereditary diseases (retinal dystrophy are the important leading causes of vision impairment in children. • More than a third of the students with vision impairment had benefit of distance spectacles and more than half of the students had benefit of low vision devices (LVDs). • Students with aphakia, buphthalmos, retinal dystrophy and optic nerve atrophy had benefit of refraction and LVDs . 9th General Assembly International Agency for the Preventation of Blindness
CONCLUSION • The present study highlights that the provisions of low vision services are necessary for children with impaired vision in schools for the Blind. • The study highlights the potential value of spectacles and LVDs in the “incurably blind children”. 9th General Assembly International Agency for the Preventation of Blindness
9th General Assembly International Agency for the Preventation of Blindness
Thank you 9th General Assembly International Agency for the Preventation of Blindness